I’ve previously made reference in these posts to the “Jiminy Cricket-esque”Â quality of the voices within my socnets as your streams, threads and updates intersect with mine. Very oftentimes, a tweet, a Pinterest image or an update will speak to me in a way that has special significance. Call it kismet; call it some sort of angelic or Divine message, The Hive Mind….call it what you will, but I’ve come to rely on the Collective Wisdom that pervades my day-to-day existence as we become increasingly interwoven through our communication platforms.

This week, I had an opportunity to hear from a few folks who had gained something from my digital ramblings into the ether. I think that sometimes, we sit behind our screens and pontificate into the social space, assuming that no one else is there. Yes, there are times when intentional sharing occurs, or active networking, but then, in the case for those who took the time to contact me via two different platforms, something that I said pretty much to myself (ie. thinking aloud through typing) resonated. A bit humbling, truth be told.

Of those who contacted me, the comment about being alone speaks most directly to the entrepreneur’s experience. Launching a business or establishing something that doesn’t already exist in exactly the way we see it requires a certain amount of “alone-ness.”Â The very nature of seeing what others don’t requires an outsider’s perspective, and for those who are REALLY bleeding edge, the rest of us can be painfully slow in catching up.

You really aren’t alone. Solitude is usually self-imposed. I’m so grateful for good friends & the ability to recognize them.~ MCK

This is the paradox and the nebulous half-world in which we entrepreneurs find ourselves pretty much 95% of the time, isn’t it?. How many of you have said to yourself, “WHY can’t anyone else SEE this?!”Â How many of you think that you are equal parts egomaniac and the most Patient Person Who Ever Lived? How many of you are grateful and humble for the tribe that surrounds you and keeps you sane?

No man (or woman, for that matter) is an island. Each of us is interconnected with the other. We draw strength, inspiration and energy from each other. In order for us to succeed, we must learn the art of surrounding ourselves with people who nurture, challenge and accept us while at the same time being able to disengage in order to change the status quo/implement our vision.

When I was in the first year of establishing Women With Drive Foundation, there were three people within my Inner Sanctum who would receive texts from me, which read simply, “I’m not crazy, and this will all work out.”Â

To my eternal relief and gratitude, these people, without fail, would immediately return my text, saying, “You’re not crazy, and this will all work out.”

When you feel alone, pause and really determine WHY you feel alone.

– Do you perceive that you are misunderstood?
– Have you been maintaining contact with people who care about you and want you to succeed?
– Have you been neglecting your health (spiritual, mental, physical)?

Being “alone”Â is the most cruel illusion because it is one to which we subject ourselves. I can’t recall if it was Kant or The Eagles who said, “…so oftentimes it happens that we live our lives in chains / And we never even know we have the key…”Â?

If you feel as though you are misunderstood, reach out to someone you trust and ask him or her to give you honest feedback as to where your message is breaking down. One of the BIGGEST shortcomings of we entrepreneurs is that we fill in the exposition gaps within our own internal vision and forget to clue in the external world.

Keep in touch with people. Take care of your health. Without a healthy Shell, your vision will be more difficult to communicate and sustain. Thank people who provide support. Let them know their part in helping bring your vision to life.

I’m not gonna lie: there ARE going to be stretches toward your goals where it will be just you holding the vision alight. There ARE going to be stretches when you face making payroll, dipping into the emergency savings, or selling your belongings on ebay to buy groceries. At those times, you will feel as though no one else gives two shakes ~ for you, your idea, your vision or your solution that you can bring to the world.

For what it’s worth, I care. Hang tough. Breathe deep. Stretch. Call one of your Crazy Inner Sanctum Friends (you should have at least three). Keep going. The world needs you.

Have you ever felt alone? How did you process it and keep going? What was the result? What did you learn?

———

Molly Cantrell-Kraig is a woman with drive. Possessing an innate sense of purpose and a pragmatic, solution-based approach to empowering people, she fused these two traits in order to establish Women With Drive Foundation. Based upon its founder’s personal history, Women With Drive Foundation is a means through which Cantrell-Kraig may effect change on both a micro and macro level. By providing women with something as essential as personal transportation in order to transition them from poverty to prosperity, she, through Women With Drive Foundation, seeks to empower women to help them help themselves. Through this action, the individual applicant benefits, as does society as a whole. Follow Molly on twitter as @mckra1g or @WWDr1ve (Women With Drive Foundation).

I had an opportunity to chat with an internal leadership team for a major brand recently. Intrepreneurism is a strategic way of building teams and initiatives across departments, even within a heavily siloed corporate structure or hierarchy. That’s a lot of buzzwords for a weekend.

By sharing with them my experiences in building WWDF, I was able to help draw analogies between risk taking, building consensus and collaboration, even if you’re not launching your own business. It may be even more difficult to be a risk taker or ripple maker in a corporate environment, as one of the foundational strengths of a corporation is people and departments working within a singular vision.

Loose cannons and rabble rousers can upset the status quo and detract from forward motion in some instances.

That said, the parable of Stone Soup is applicable when building teams, regardless of whether or not you’re a bootstrapped start up or a megolithic behemoth. If you’re not familiar, the story of stone soup is based on the experiences of a hungry stranger, who, upon being told that there was nothing for him to eat in town, helped the villagers cook a pot of delicious stew (in spite of themselves and using ingredients provided by the aforesaid villagers).

Common elements to when building teams:

ÂÂ Define a common task or goal
ÂÂ Communicate the benefits of a successful outcome to all parties
ÂÂ Help individuals identify their gifts or contributions
Â Give them the opportunity to make a difference
Â Share the credit and the glory

One of the questions after my presentation had to do with “dealing with difficult people.” It may seem Pollyanna of me, but my answer was to come to the table assuming that everyone wanted to be there. When operating from a perspective of contribution from the outset, you have the opportunity to set the tone for the entire initiative.

Cooking with rocks can be done. It’s all in your recipe. Have you ever experienced resourcefulness or a successful team-building venture? How did you do it?

——-

Molly Cantrell-Kraig is a woman with drive. Possessing an innate sense of purpose and a pragmatic, solution-based approach to empowering people, she fused these two traits in order to establish Women With Drive Foundation. Based upon its founder’s personal history, Women With Drive Foundation is a means through which Cantrell-Kraig may effect change on both a micro and macro level. By providing women with something as essential as personal transportation in order to transition them from poverty to prosperity, she, through Women With Drive Foundation, seeks to empower women to help them help themselves. Through this action, the individual applicant benefits, as does society as a whole. Follow Molly on twitter as @mckra1g orÂ @WWDr1ve (Women With Drive).

As we move forward in our journey towards independence, it helps to have examples of courage and successes to keep us motivated. As I’ve made reference to in previous posts, the road to our goals can be lonely sometimes. Count on it.

For those times when my real-life cheerleaders are sparse, I rely on the celluloid choir that lives in the movies. I can cue up any one of these seven listed below and be instantly reminded that It’s Worth It. Challenges are meant to be overcome. People aren’t always going to understand me or my dreams. Some may actively seek to undermine them because they challenge the status quo.

If we are to live lives of autonomy, we must remember that victories are possible and that we can make a difference. The following, in no particular order, are what I refer to as my Magnificent Seven. I would love to hear about your personal favorites in the comments section.

Get out your popcorn and join me on the couch (Oh, BTW, here there be spoilers):

1. RUDY (1993) – Even though it could be construed as a recruitment vehicle for Notre Dame, I don’t care. Everything from the score to the “pull your head out of your tookus”Â reprimand from The Janitor inspires me to keep going when the mediocre in me wants to quit. Rudy’s teammates on the scrub squad ask him to downplay his passion for the team and the game, but ultimately, his work ethic and love for the sport win the respect of the first stringers who sacrifice a spot in the line up for his benefit. Their action reminds me that commitment to excellence pays; those who respect commitment and quality reward effort and that together, people with vision can achieve their goals. On the off chance that you have not yet seen this movie, I won’t give away the ending. No Googling. Watch it.

2. BREAKING AWAY (1979) I wish I could find a better clip than this cheezoid trailer, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. This is a quiet, but inspiring film that resonates with anyone who ever felt misunderstood. Dave is a midwestern teen who is a misfit in so many ways, it’s difficult to keep track. One of the most admirable things about him is his dedication to bicycling. His grueling training doesn’t matter to him, because he loves Italian bicycling racing more than the English language can convey, which is why he has immersed himself in the Italian culture. A story about the self-imposed shackles and mindsets of small town Americana/socio-economic groups juxtaposed against the boundary-less echelons of achievement within the construct of a college town, we get to see Dave experience joy, heartbreak, renewal and ultimately triumph.

3. THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY (2001, 2002, 2003) The ultimate Quest Movie, the LotR films embody the Emerson quote, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”Â J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic series comes down to a paradoxical parallel narrative: the battle of/over good and evil ranges within and without. We are our own microcosm and projection onto the worlds we inhabit. It is always within us to choose the highest course, and we have within us depths that we never fully plumb. The central nugget of the quote within the YouTube clip prior comes from Gandalf, who says, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

4. THE MATRIX (1999) – There are so many moments and scenes in this movie that help me focus, but the overriding theme that keeps me from giving up? Alignment with who you are, accepting your gifts and responsibilities that grow from them. Also central to this movie is the importance of ACTION. Theory is fabulous. I love thinking and I love talking with a bunch of folks about making things happen. However, nothing happens without implementation, or the kinetic expression of your intentions. In order to change the world, you need to walk your path. Non-negotiable.

5. SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) – This movie succeeds at silencing my inner complainer. Andy DuFresne was railroaded into a jail sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. Sometimes, life isn’t fair. However, the way you choose to respond is always within your power. The trailer clip highlights hope and the famous line ..’to get busy livin’ or get busy dyin…” and I see the power in that. But I am also encouraged by the way Andy escaped. Painstaking attention to detail; knowledge of the system that confined him (both figurative and literal – and his ability to leverage that knowledge). Whether through routing monies or carving his way through the rock walls, he knew how to make the most of what he had been handed.

6. ERIN BROCKOVICH (2000) – As a single mother who has had to juggle her kids between her work and personal lives, this one is probably the most analogous to my own experience. There are of course, significant differences, but watching someone evolve and become the woman she was created to be is encouraging. Erin Brockovich possessed an innate intelligence and a tenacity that enabled her to keep going, despite poverty and setbacks (both personal and professional). When she began to channel those traits into a means to help others, her life began to flourish.

7. MIRACLE (2004) – “Again.”Â This word literally streaks through my head when I want to give up. Dig deeper. You are stronger than you think. This particular clip also underscores for me that teamwork and collaboration have an amazing power. Another is the fact that we are all in this together. All of us. There is only one way off this rock. Until then, we. Are. All. In. This. Together. This scene highlighted in the clip reminds me of a quote from President Calvin Coolidge:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On!’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Now it’s your turn! Please let us know your personal movie list and how it helps you to keep moving forward.

—-

Molly Cantrell-Kraig is a woman with drive. Possessing an innate sense of purpose and a pragmatic, solution-based approach to empowering people, she fused these two traits in order to establishÂ Women With Drive Foundation. Based upon its founderÃ¢ÂÂs personal history, Women With Drive Foundation is a means through which Cantrell-Kraig may effect change on both a micro and macro level. By providing women with something as essential as personal transportation in order to transition them from poverty to prosperity, she, through Women With Drive Foundation, seeks to empower women to help them help themselves. Through this action, the individual applicant benefits, as does society as a whole. Follow Molly on twitter asÃÂ @mckra1g orÃÂ @WWDr1ve (Women With Drive Foundation) or “Like” them onÂ facebook.

By Tracy Vides

Startup founders have lives that are anything but normal: they have to deal with uncertain markets. Their ideas are vulnerable to deep dive into oblivion any time, they suffer scarcity of resources, and they are perennially strapped for cash. Startup founders put their soul Â along with themselves Â through rigorous (almost insane) time schedules.

A considerable amount of energy, passion, love and work goes into a startup, regardless of whether it succeeds or fails. Although digital marketing, including content marketing, goes with the overall scheme of things, while running a startup, weÂll ignore that for a moment and consider content marketing separately.

So, what happens when you bring startup culture to content marketing? How does the way you do content marketing change when you bring in the ethos that startups are known for?

Here are some lessons from startups that you can apply to content marketing, blogging, and digital marketing in general:

DonÂt Fall for the Single Founder Mistake

Paul Graham, author and founder of Y Combinator, lists out some mistakes most startups make, one of the first of which is to have a single founder.

Very few successful startups have just one founder. Google, Apple, Oracle are all examples of companies with humble starts and certainly more than one founder.

Having one founder, Paul believes, is a vote of no confidence. Even if that wasnÂt the case, growing a startup is incredibly hard for one person. Startups need a way to weed out bad decisions, and a one-founder startup has no checks and balances in that regard. Having a team spreads out the hard work, keeps stupid decisions in check, and to brainstorm for more ideas.

Lesson: Content development, likewise, isnÂt a one-person effort. Whether you are a business looking to develop content for marketing, a content marketer working on various types of content for other businesses, or even a content developer or freelance writer, youÂll need a team.

Working with professional writers, in-house content development teams, and collaborating with experts is a great way to give your content development work a boost. Content marketing is best achieved with collaboration Â no matter how you choose to do it.

Starting Up without Research is Doomed

Startups are glamorous. That doesnÂt take away the grueling work behind running one, though. According to Toby Ruckert of Stuff.co.nz, ÂresearchÂ is a fundamental building block for a startup. Technically, itÂs called Âvalidating ideasÂ, in startup circles. YouÂd go out to your potential customer base, launch surveys, brainstorm with your team, and gather material from the web, universities, or libraries.

To know is at the core of a successful startup.

Lesson: Content marketing is impossible without research. Of course, you can hash out trite content but by now, you know that it wonÂt work for your business. Include research into every piece of content you develop.

Know your readers, and gather analytics that matter to you. If you are approaching other bloggers, find out everything you can about them and their websites. Digging into site ownersÂ personal details and preferences is easy Â you can get to know a lot from their About and Contact pages, and social media profiles.

However, to be a true online detective, you need to know their pain and pleasure points with regard to their day-to-day blog operation. You can use Whois to uncover site owner and administration information, whoishostingthis.com to find their hosting details, SEMRush to know more about visitor traffic and how they get it, and so on.

Startups are Hard

Uncrunched.com has a post with this simple message: If you are not comfortable with the fact that startups are hard work and that a lot of time and sacrifice will go into it, you should get yourself a job.

Startups are hard in more ways than you can imagine. Chris McCannÂs post reveals the sweat, blood, and tears involved in a startup founderÂs life.

Yet, Kevin Ready, a contributor at Forbes.com, thinks that the hard startup life is good. Technology helps you overcome some hurdles. The Internet makes it easy to hire people (either full-time or on contractual basis), and the availability of affordable tools make it easier to launch a startup today.

However, if you quit whining, embrace the startup life, and do it right, you make history.

Lesson: Too many business owners and marketers think that you have to Âmake timeÂ for content marketing.

Correction: Drop everything else (except running your business) and go all out at content marketing. Quit whining that it takes a humongous effort, time, money and energy to develop great content, to get good content published as guest blogs, to work on social media, to create videos, and to publish all other sorts of content.

Content marketing Â when you do it right Â has phenomenal payoffs.

The Value is in Speed, Not Money

Tanya Prive of Forbes gave some convincing reasons why startups succeed, some of which were speed, efficiency, and the rush a startup works with.

Startups also succeed because they provide value while keeping the pace of work fast and efficient. Startups, however, donÂt succeed because a VC firm funds them. They donÂt succeed just because they have capital.

Lesson: Traditional marketing spoiled us into thinking that if we had access to cash and an unending stream of funds, we could market and promote our way to success.

All you had to do was to buy media space and bomb the market with as much advertising as your money could buy.

Today, consumers donÂt trust traditional advertising much. Instead, they trust their own social networks and their preferred sources of advice online (blogs and publications). Content marketing is all about making the right information available to seed consumersÂ hunger for information.

As a brand, you need credibility, trust, social proof, and commercial love. Content marketing has to achieve all of that and not to fill up the Internet with more trash.

To achieve speed and to provide value with content marketing, you have to make a splash, no matter what your current state of available resources is like. Danny Iny of Firepole marketing did just that with his super-powered guest blogging campaigns targeted major blogs. All he had was to use his skill in writing and a burning desire with a willingness to put in the work to get his guest blogs out. His outreach success led him to develop a popular report called Engagement from Scratch.

Content marketing is an overall endeavor to get the word out, to generate trust, to marshal goodwill and to amass social proof. ItÂs the key to what is now known as Inbound Marketing.

Your content marketing defines you. It makes you money. It tells the world who you are and why you are in business. It convinces, persuades, inspires, and informs.

How do you approach content marketing? How important is it for your business? Which of the lessons do you think you can pick up and run with?

Author’s Bio: Tracy Vides is a content creator and marketer, who loves to blog about subjects as diverse as fashion, technology, and finance. She’s always raring to have a discussion on startups and entrepreneurship. Say “Hi” to her on Twitter @TracyVides. You can also find her on G+ at gplus.to/TracyVides.

by
Kate Endress

Practical Advice for Female Entrepreneurs

American society seems to have finally reached the commendable tipping point where the number of women receiving advanced degrees and finding high-paying jobs is leveling out with men. And despite a scary statistic that women lead just 8% of venture-backed companies, I believe that the tide has also shifted in Silicon Valley.

It’s hard to ignore the wave of successful startups with strong female customer bases. Women make up 60% of Zynga’s customers, 77% of Groupon’s customers, 82% of Pinterest’s users and 70% of all ecommerce buyers. Those are numbers that even the old boys club of venture capital can’t ignore. I am a huge online shopper myself, and I was able to leverage that authenticity to attract venture backing for my ecommerce startup last August.

4 Success Keys for Female Entrepreneurs

While admittedly I’m pretty new the game, I’m often asked if I have any advice for aspiring, young entrepreneurs. What follows are 4 success keys for female entrepreneurs.

Seek out strong female role models.

I got some great advice early in my career by a female colleague who told me to find the women I want to emulate and get to know them by offering to buy them a cup of coffee. At first, I was a bit nervous to pick up the phone or write the email, because I knew they were busy women. But in the past seven years, I have reached out at least once a month to female bosses, leaders and entrepreneurs and only once to date has the recipient not been able to fit me in. I’m often touched at how openly and warmly they share experiences both professionally and personally. Ask about their management styles and their tactics for achieving the elusive work/life balance. It is through these meetings that I have honed in on my vision for the kind of female leader, mother and wife I hope to someday become.

Take advantage of a growing number of organizations and resources dedicated to promoting women in technology.

Women just one generation ahead often had to rise through the ranks without a support system. And yet these trailblazers have turned around and paved a path for the younger generations by creating organizations that open doors and facilitate connections for young females in tech. I subscribe to Women 2.0, a Kauffman-backed organization that offers content, community and conferences for women founders in tech. It’s inspiring to keep tabs on other female entrepreneurs, and I’ve attended several events in San Francisco where I got to connect with other female founders. I also applied and was recently accepted to Springboard’s program, which matches female entrepreneurs with coaches, industry contacts and investors. Take advantage of these incredible resources!

Be good at what you do.

Seek out opportunities that might give you a second look because you are female, but don’t depend on that to get the job done. I’ve had several female engineers apply to my company, and I was rooting for them. But at the end of the day they weren’t as good on merit, and they didn’t get the job. Be self aware about your weakness and take advantage of online and local courses to improve everything from your coding to your public speaking skills. Deep down, you know when you are really good at something, and this competence is the crux of the confidence that will make you successful.

Speak with conviction and work on your handshake.

I’ve noticed many women do themselves a huge disservice by raising the inflection of their voice at the end of sentences. It makes everything sound like a question and gives others the perception of a lack of confidence. Make sure your statements really pack a punch. Along the same lines, don’t start an introduction with a wimpy handshake. You don’t need to have an Arnold-grip but make eye contact and shake hands like you mean it. Let others know you are confident in yourself, your team and your idea.

Author’s Bio:
Kate Endress is a private equity investor turned entrepreneur and e-commerce pioneer. After graduating from Stanford Business School in 2011, Kate cofounded DITTO.com, an ecommerce site selling designer sunglasses and eyewear which features cutting edge new “try-on” technology

New from Liz Strauss & GeniusShared Press

It can be hard to find focus sometimes. A few months ago, I was talking with a colleague who was having a hard time finding focus in their work. They spoke of feeling pulled in multiple directions and of many obligations — both at work and with their family. As I listened, I could hear […]

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend. We were sharing stories from days gone by about each of our lives. We hopped from one story to the next — based on what each of us were sharing. It was really an incredible discussion as we were each learning from the other […]

Everyone feels lost sometimes. I don’t think I know anyone who hasn’t been lost in their head at one time or another — even those folks overachieving all over the Internet. We all find those moments that we wonder about who we are and what we want. But the question is not whether everyone gets […]

I felt the more embarrassing fear of people’s judgment. When I decided it was time to write again, I avoided the computer for the longest time. On the rare occasion that I managed to sit myself down to write, I’d get caught up answering email or reading articles around the web, not doing writing I […]